


i make no apologies

by Jellybean96



Series: A Future Fixed [6]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Coming Out, F/M, Family, Future Fic, Gay Pride, Pride, Supportive Felicity Smoak, Supportive Oliver Queen, supportive family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24720007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: William finally knows exactly who he is. And he's done keeping it to himself.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, William Clayton & Felicity Smoak, William Clayton & Oliver Queen
Series: A Future Fixed [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551670
Comments: 6
Kudos: 85





	i make no apologies

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Pride Month, babes! Here's a little fic I came up with a while back but decided to post today since it is still Pride Month. I'm not part of the community, but I know plenty of people who are, so I hope I did okay with this story.
> 
> Enjoy!

William wrings his hands together tightly as he waits for the video call to connect. He's only met her once before, at his baby sister's first birthday party just a few weeks ago, and he knows that she's a really good friend of his parents. She's known his dad since they were young, and she didn't meet his stepmom until they were adults, but they became really fast friends. He knows that if she wasn't off traveling in a time ship all the time to protect history then she'd probably be around more often and a lot more involved in their lives.

He glances at the clock in the corner of his laptop screen, checking the time. His parents are out with Mia for a few hours running errands, so he knows he still has some time to do this before they get back. Unless Mia gets fussy so they come home early. Which is why he really needs this call to connect. It's probably a little tougher than any other video call would be, considering the woman he's trying to contact could literally be anywhere in history, but he's taking his chance.

Finally, the call connects and a computer-animated image of a generic female face appears in the center of his screen. His brows furrow together tightly. "Um, hello?"

"Hello. My name is Gideon, an artificial intelligence programmed to operate the Waverider."

He pushes down his excitement for the time being at talking to an actual AI, focusing on the reason for the call request in the first place. "Hi. Is...is Sara there?"

"She's on her way back to the time ship as we speak. May I ask why you wish to speak with Captain Lance?"

"It's uh...it's a personal matter," William tells the AI, shifting a little in his seat, unsure if she can actually see him through the screen.

The head — Gideon — nods. "Of course. If you'll wait a moment, I'll have her take your call once she's on board."

"Okay. Thank you, Gideon."

"You're welcome, William."

The video switches to a random screensaver of sorts and William lets out a breath. He leans back a little in his desk chair, glancing at another spot of his room that he needs to clean up and organize eventually. His mind is racing, going back and forth on whether or not this is a good idea, if he should actually be doing it like this.

"William, long time no see."

He sits back up and focuses on his computer screen, seeing Sara Lance on the other end, wearing some weird outfit he's never seen before. Probably something related to whatever time travel mission she was just on with her team. "Yeah. We met at Mia's birthday."

Sara nods. "I remember. Gideon said you wanted to talk to me. Gotta say I wasn't expecting to get a call from you. What's up?"

William shifts in his seat. "You're uh...you're in a relationship with that woman, Ava, right?"

Sara nods with a smile. "I am. And we're very happy together."

"That's good. I uh...I have this...friend...and he's trying to figure out how to come out to his family. But he's not sure how they're going to take it. Or how to do it."

"Well...for me, I didn't necessarily come out to my friends and family." She shrugs. "It just sort of happened when they saw me with a woman one day after I'd finally come home for the first time after the Gambit went down. It wasn't a huge deal either, me being with a woman, because that's how I wanted it to be. My friends and family accepted me for who I am and nothing really changed."

William nods. "Right."

"But if your friend is feeling nervous," she tells him with a small encouraging smile, "then just tell him to relax, and tell his family what's going on. It doesn't have to be anything big or extravagant unless that's what your friend wants. Then he can do that. But it never hurts to just sit down and have an honest conversation."

"Okay. Thanks, Sara."

"Anytime. How are things there?"

"They're good," William says with a shrug. "School just started back up. I'm glad I had time to settle back in before starting school. It'll be nice to not have to move again in a few months, though. Maybe I'll actually be at this school for longer than a year."

Sara laughs. "Yeah, maybe. It's good that you enjoy school, though. Your dad never did. In all the time I've known him he never—"

"Pardon the interruption, Captain, but there seems to be an issue on the bridge that needs your attention."

Sara sighs heavily, her eyes looking upwards. "Alright, Gideon. Thank you." She looks back at William and smiles softly. "I need to go and corral my team before things get worse, but you can call me whenever you need to, okay? Maybe one day I can take you for a joyride through time. We just won't tell your parents or my girlfriend."

William cracks a smile. "That sounds really cool, thanks."

"No problem. And hey, I may not know your...friend, but I'm sure his parents are pretty cool people and that they'll completely understand." She winks at him and then the video cuts out, the screen going back to black.

He leans back in his chair and looks up at the ceiling, his mind wandering, trying to think of the best possible way to tell his parents the truth. He could come up with something elaborate. Or he could just tell them without any grand gestures, like Sara had suggested.

He lets out a heavy sigh, turning his attention to the homework he'd been assigned the other day, despite how early into the school year it still is. He just needs a little more time to think things over.

.

.

.

William breathes in deeply as he makes his way down the stairs to the living room. Mia went to sleep hours ago, and he knows that he should be on his way to that too, but he needs to do this before he chickens out. He needs to get everything out in the open with the people who love him.

His parents are sitting together on the couch in the living room, watching a show that he vaguely registers as some cooking show that his dad watches every week. But that's about all he gets from it. His mind is elsewhere.

"He put way too much seasoning on that," his dad comments about the show, one hand gesturing wildly to the screen.

Felicity laughs quietly beside him. "Honey, it's a show."

"A competition show, Felicity. These are real people making real food and trying to win money from it. Putting that much seasoning could cost him everything. Unless someone else screws up way worse than him."

The edges of William's lips quirk up at hearing his dad sound so...human. If only the people who only ever encountered him as the Green Arrow could see him now. They wouldn't know what to do with themselves.

"It's a school night, Will, you should be in bed."

He sighs, having forgotten momentarily about his dad's finely tuned senses. "Sorry," he speaks up, moving further into the living room. "I just...I wanted to talk to you guys for a minute about something."

"You have excellent timing because I think your father is going to have a fit from watching this show if we don't take a break."

"The seasoning, Felicity…" his dad reminds her with a near-devastated look on his face.

She just smiles and pats his leg. "I know, hun." She shuts the TV off after reminding Oliver that it's recording so he can finish the episode later.

"The seasoning is pretty important," William remarks as he moves to sit in the chair next to the couch.

His parents just smile at him before shifting on the couch to face him better.

"So what's up, buddy?" his dad asks, focusing all of his attention on William.

"I um...I have something I need to tell you guys. But before I tell you, can you promise to let me say everything first before you say anything?"

Felicity's brows furrow together tightly. "You're starting to worry us, kid. Is everything okay?"

He nods. "Yeah, everything's fine. I just...I'm gay."

"Will…"

He closes his eyes, his head falling just a little. "Dad, please. Can I say this first?"

"Of course."

"Thanks." He breathes in deeply, opening his eyes but staring down at the carpet beneath him. "I uh...I think I've known for a little while, but I'm...I didn't really know for sure until I was talking to a kid I knew when I went away to boarding school. We were just talking...like we always did...and then I realized that I thought he was cute and that I liked him as more than a friend. I didn't...I was scared. At first. I didn't...I thought there was something wrong with me. And then eventually I remembered your friend Curtis, and your friend Sara, and I realized that there isn't anything wrong with me. That I'm just...I'm not...that I'm still me." He breathes in deeply again, flexing his fingers a few times before raising his head, a small weight finally lifted from his shoulders. His heart sinks when he finds his parents looking at him with tears in their eyes. "Please don't cry," he says quickly, starting to panic. "I didn't mean to make you guys upset or anything, but I had to tell you. This is who I am. I'm still me."

Felicity wipes quickly at her eyes, her glasses getting in the way momentarily, and then she gestures wildly for him to join them on the couch.

He does, and he's instantly engulfed in a hug from his stepmom. "Of course you're still you, Will," she says in his ear, and the rest of the weight is lifted off his shoulders. She pulls back to look at him, her eyes red from crying. "It doesn't matter who you have a crush on or who you end up with one day. You're still the smart, brave, handsome, amazing young man that your dad and I love. Nothing will ever change that."

"Felicity's right," his dad says. He's definitely trying to keep a better hold on his emotions than Felicity is. "You are our son, and we will always love you no matter what. And your sister is always going to love you. She won't know that anything is wrong, because there is nothing wrong."

William smiles at his parent's remarks. "She said you guys would be cool about it, but I guess a part of me still feared the worst."

"Who did, buddy?"

"Sara. I kind of...called her the other day. I knew she was dating a woman and I wanted to know how she came out to her family. To you guys."

"She didn't really do it like you just did," his dad tells him. "I'll tell you the whole story later, but her girlfriend basically just showed up one day and they kissed and that's how we all found out."

William chuckles. "Wow. I guess that's one way to do it. A little too blunt for my taste, I think, but if it works it works. I'm really glad you guys are okay with this, though."

"We've always been okay with it," Felicity tells him with a smile as she runs a hand down over his hair.

His brows furrow together tightly at her remark, his brain running a mile a minute. "What? What do you mean you've always been okay with it?"

"We've known for a while, buddy," his dad tells him with a soft smile.

"But...how? I didn't even know."

"Parents intuition," Felicity tells him. "But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you are our son, we love you, and all the same rules still apply if you have friends over. No boys in your room with the door closed. And no going over to other boy's houses if their parents aren't home."

"I think I can live with that."

"That's good," his dad says, "because the rules wouldn't have changed either way. Now, I think I've recovered enough from that clear blunder on Master Chef to finish the episode. Want to stay and finish it with us?"

William glances between his two parents and smiles, shaking his head. "No, I think I'm just gonna go to bed. School tomorrow. But uh, thanks for listening."

"You're welcome, buddy," his dad says with a hand on his shoulder. "Sleep tight, okay? We'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, I'll see you guys in the morning." He stands from the couch and makes his way around it on his way to the stairs. "Goodnight," he calls from the bottom of the steps.

"Goodnight," his parents echo from the living room.

He waits for a moment, watching from the steps as his parents assume the position they'd been in before he'd come down, their "optimal cuddling position" as he's heard Felicity call it before. He smiles as Master Chef is loaded back onto the screen and his dad continues to complain about the excess or lack of seasoning in various dishes.

The smile still on his face, William walks back up to his bedroom, a newfound air of confidence surrounding him. He still has to tell his friends and his extended family. But he's told his parents now. That was the biggest thing. But now it's over he doesn't have to stress out about it. He can just relax and live his life. He can live being his true self, no more need to worry or hide who he is.

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


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